Black women to take over the streets across US on Sept. 30; here’s why

On Saturday, September 30, thousands of Black women across religious, ethnic and socio economic backgrounds, will converge on the nation’s capital to amplify the struggles of Black women. They will also demand a brand of racial justice that centers on the trauma and atrocities of all Black women’s lived experiences across generations. To date, more than 2,000 women are signed up to participate.

Thousands are expected to March in Washington, DC, to speak out against violence, economic discrimination, and social invisibility of Black women. The Black Feminist/Womanist Rally and March, aptly named “March for Black Women,” will kick-off with a rally at 10 AM and the March begins from Seward Square at 11:30 AM in Seward Square (Capitol Hill) at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and North Carolina, Avenue, SE.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA – January 21, 2017: Thousands in Philadelphia unite in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington. Philadelphia’s march is one of 673 Sister Marches worldwide. (Photo Credit: Jana Shea)

One of the organizers posted this comment on the event website: “It is us, and in particular trans Black women and our girls, and our elders and those of us on a low income, who bear the brunt of a multitude of racialized and sexualized abuses which are not challenged with outrage, do not make the screens of our social media pages nor our televisions. The physical, financial and social enrichment of the nation-state at the expense of Black bodies and at the expense of Black lives is too old a strategy, and Black women will not allow for it.”

They are calling on the federal government and our own Black communities to take the following actions:

Issue an apology to all Black women for centuries of abuses, including sexual violence and reproductive violations against Black bodies, especially the brutalization of transwomen.

Beyond the 2016 Gender Bias Policing Guidance, ensure immediate and sustainable measures by the U.S. Government to eliminate incarcerations, incidences of rape and “sexual misconduct”, police murder and violence against all Black women, and especially transwomen.

End the threat against the human right to healthcare and increase access, including all reproductive health care, bar none.

Ensure economic justice for Black low income women at the communal and federal level, many of whom are at increased risk for violence due to lack of economic power.

Cease and desist all threats of deportation of immigrant women across the country, especially those whose deportation may cost them their lives or safety.

Also, participants of March for Black Women will join the March for Racial Justice scheduled later that day.